Now It's Red Poling's Turn at Ford

Published: April 22, 1990

(Page 2 of 3)

To remain successful, James Womack, research director of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's international vehicle project, said, ''Ford must continue to introduce striking products'' like the Taurus. Unveiled in late 1984, the Taurus received much attention because of its unusual styling.

High-End Competition

The decision to buy the established name of Jaguar, however, was an alternative to creating a new high-luxury model Ford needs to compete with Japanese and European models. While Ford's Lincoln luxury cars have been successful, they appeal to older, less affluent buyers than the target audience for Jaguar.

Some auto experts have criticized the Jaguar acquisition, saying that by taking the safer course of buying an established line, Ford loses the chance to stress its strengths as it did with Taurus. Ford risks diluting Jaguar's strong image by interfering and by its promise to boost production, but executives vow they will only aid Jaguar financially, provide some managers and help with suppliers.

With the unexpected promotion of Harold Arthur Poling, 64 years old, to a three-year term as chief executive in November, some conventional wisdom was challenged. At a moment when Ford was facing the need for aggressive spending, it was choosing a man who had earned his reputation as a cost-cutter. Mr. Poling, who was paid $2.1 million in 1989 as vice chairman and chief operating officer, got the top spot when his predecessor, Donald E. Petersen, 63, decided to take early retirement, citing weariness of the job. Some Ford executives believed Mr. Poling, an accountant by training, balanced Mr. Petersen's background as a product engineer. Mr. Petersen tended to give engineers and designers more freedom to spend on new vehicles; Mr. Poling used his experience as a financial controller to set limits.

American auto executives often are categorized as ''product guys,'' engineers like Mr. Petersen and G.M's chairman-elect, Robert Stempel; ''marketing guys,'' like Lee Iacocca, or ''finance guys,'' like G.M.'s outgoing chairman, Roger B. Smith, and Mr. Poling. In the 1950's, corporate power shifted from engineers and entrepreneurs like Henry Ford and Alfred Sloan of G.M. to a coterie of financial executives, epitomized by G.M. chairman Frederic Donner and his acolyte, Mr. Smith.

Numerous Ford officials have tried to head off speculation that Mr. Poling will be little more than a number cruncher by insisting that he understands auto-making from top to bottom. Moreover, they point out, he belongs to a management team that has boosted Ford's capital expenditures to an all-time high.

A growing number of industry experts now wonder whether a chief executive's credentials from early in his career are determinative of future behavior. Moreover, the picture of narrowly focused accountants, engineers and sales executives balancing one another at the top of American auto companies may be outdated. ''Fifteen years ago this might have been an apt way to look at Ford, but top management really has got religion in terms of getting a broader perspective,'' said David Cole, who heads the University of Michigan's center for transportation studies. ''I can assure you Red shares that breadth of view with Don Petersen.''

Not a 'Bean Counter'

David E. Davis, publisher of Automobile magazine, said, ''Red's very soft-spoken affability camouflages a really tough guy. He is constantly described as a bean counter, but a more accurate description would be a tough administrator who really believes in goals, budgets and timetables that must be met.''

Mr. Poling also downplays the importance of his pedigree: ''I've been out of the financial end for more than 15 years. How long do you have to be away from it before you can be considered a general manager?''

A qualification whose importance is beyond dispute is Mr. Poling's cordial rapport with members of the Ford family, said one family member who requested anonymity. The heirs of the late Henry Ford still control ownership of the auto maker through a separate class of stock and were not happy last year when Mr. Petersen resisted promoting William C. Ford Jr. and Edsel Ford to important committees of the board of directors. (Mr. Petersen subsequently relented.) Mr. Poling graduated from Monmouth (Ill.) College and Indiana University, where he earned a master's degree in accounting. He took a job in Ford's steel division as a trainee in 1951. After a number of financial management jobs, he caught the eye of J. Edward Lundy, Ford's legendary chief financial officer. Mr. Lundy recommended him as vice president of finance for Ford's European subsidiary. ''Henry Ford II believed all top managers needed to get tuned in Europe,'' said Mr. Davis, noting that a tough but quiet demeanor was what pleased Mr. Ford.

Based in Great Britain, Mr. Poling rose to president and then, in 1977, chairman of Ford of Europe. Already an excellent golfer, Mr. Poling took advantage of a court on the roof of Ford headquarters to learn squash. ''He's very competitive by instinct,'' said Paul Tippett, the former chairman of the American Motors Corporation who worked with Mr. Poling at Ford's European subsidiary and once required five stitches to close a gash on his face caused by Mr. Poling's errant squash racquet.